Outside Source
😳🏆Alex Volkanovski wants Ilia Topuria to become loghtweight champion:
“Imagine that — if he were to win [lightweight title] and then we have a rematch at lightweight. That’s a perfect world for me.”
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🎥 @arielhelwani ▫️ pic.twitter.com/T8aTNMynR7— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) May 5, 2025
Alexander Volkanovski’s dream bout is a rematch against Ilia Topuria with the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title on the line.
Volkanovski (27-4) lost his featherweight title via a brutal knockout against Topuria (16-0) at UFC 298 last year. Topuria then defended his belt just once against Max Holloway before moving up to lightweight. Meanwhile, Volkanovski won the vacant title via a unanimous decision against Diego Lopes at UFC 314 last month. While Volkanovski would have ideally liked to avenge his loss, that ship has sailed for the time being.
However, not all hope if lost for “The Great.” Topuria is rallying for a lightweight title shot against Islam Makhachev, which the champ is unwilling to accept until “La Leyenda” has proven himself at 155 pounds. Topuria recently announced that his fighting at UFC 317 on June 28, although he didn’t name an opponent.
If and when Topuria competes for the lightweight title, Volkanovski wants the Georgian-Spaniard to win it. The Australian envisions a double champ bid against Topuria, along with the chance to exact revenge.
“Perfect world would have been having that rematch to get the belt back,” Volkanovski told Ariel Helwani. “But that just wasn’t the case. You got to respect what he’s doing. Done with the featherweight, he wants to chase the lightweight. Let him do his thing. And then if we do do it, maybe we do it at lightweight… Imagine that, if he was to win and then we have a rematch at lightweight. Oh man, it doesn’t get much bigger than that. That’s the perfect world for me.”
Volkanovski has previously suffered two failed lightweight title bids against Makhachev. The reason Makhachev is hesitant to fight Topuria is because his wins over Volkanovski were undermined by detractors as wins over a featherweight.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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